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'Kill Your Darlings' digs those crazy Beats

'Kill Your Darlings' is a biographical story of a murder that takes place in 1944 and brings together beat poets Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. The film stars Michael C. Hall, Elizabeth Olsen, Daniel Radcliffe.

A mysterious dark chapter in the early lives of the Beat Generation is presented vividly.

For innovation, outrageousness and passion, few movements can beat the Beats.

And Hollywood has been an enthusiastic cheering section ever since these iconoclastic writers hit the scene in the 1950s. Lately, a trio of movies has focused on Beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

Kill Your Darlings (*** out of four; rated R; opens Wednesday in select cities) is the latest and the most compelling. Far more coherent than last year's aimless On the Road and more sharply focused than 2010'sHowl, it centers on a youthful Ginsberg finding his nascent artistic voice.

Director John Krokidas gets the Beats. This multi-faceted tale — part murder mystery, part coming-of-age story, part intellectual disquisition of a socio-literary movement — is well-shot, assuredly directed and sharply written by Krokidas and Austin Bunn.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, the film features Ginsberg (nimbly played by Daniel Radcliffe) as a rapturous Columbia University freshman yearning to write inventive poetry free from the strictures of literary classicism. In equal measure it focuses on Ginsberg as he explores his burgeoning sexuality, longing to be swept up in a grand passion and eager to transcend the limitations of a homophobic society.

As much as it's about Ginsberg's artistic and emotional growth, the story chronicles a dark chapter in which Ginsberg's close friend Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) is implicated in a gruesome murder.

Despite his lack of physical resemblance to the poet, Radcliffe's confident portrayal is notable for its vitality and range. He superbly conveys Ginsberg's sensitive nature and tortured sexuality.

DeHaan smolders with seductive charm as Carr, the charismatic rebel who introduces Ginsberg to subversive artistic expression, wild parties, drugs and sex. The chemistry between him and Radcliffe is evident. But lurking in the shadows is David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), Carr's lovelorn "guardian angel" whose affection has evolved into a deranged obsession.

Also part of their circle is William S. Burroughs, played with just the right degree of bizarreness by Ben Foster, and Jack Kerouac, who is given life, though only sporadically, by Jack Huston.

Rebellious precursors to '60s counterculture figures, these young men frequented jazz clubs and pulled off pranks around Columbia in a merry blend of protest, Dadaism and performance art. Though this account is occasionally too worshipful, with supporting characters only half-drawn, the complex portrayals of Ginsberg and Carr keep the story anchored.

The free-form jazz riffs these bohemian fellows enjoyed are reflected in Ginsberg's early poetry, featured here in small doses. Ginsberg, Carr and Kerouac talk about writing a lot and dare each other to defy convention. Burroughs, meanwhile, is less effusive. Mostly he takes a lot of drugs.

Ginsberg is seeking escape from a troubled family life. His poet father Louis (David Cross) has institutionalized his mentally unbalanced mother Naomi (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and she looks to her son to protect her.

Though he's inexorably drawn to Carr, Ginsberg's story is as much about casting off the shackles of his middle-class upbringing as it is about sexual awakening.

When Ginsberg's mother calls, begging him to rescue her, he cryptically describes his mission to Carr as "complicated." Carr responds: "I love complicated." And so, apparently, does Krokidas.

No straightforward biopic, the ambitious Kill Your Darlings never shies from complicated matters, letting creativity vie with emotional upheaval, and exposing the contradictions and complex facets of human attraction.

October is generally about horror films. But this year the month is filled with award contenders from Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity to Ridley Scott's The Counselor -- while Robert Redford returns to struggle at sea. Throw in a little bit of Linsanity, a dash of Wikileaks and one very bad grandpa and it's going to be a wild ride. USA Today's Bryan Alexander previews what's ahead.

Friday, Oct. 4

Warner Bros. Pictures

'Gravity'

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Plot: A routine mission turns into a fight for survival for two astronauts who are stranded in space and have to find a way back to Earth.

Plot: The moments and days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 Dallas are told through the eyes of the smaller players, including the emergency room surgeon (Efron), the regional head of the Secret Service (Thornton) and a memorable witness, Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti).

Plot: A seemingly well-adjusted A.C.O.D. - adult child of divorce - (Scott) lapses into chaos after finding out his former "therapist" (Lynch) has written a book about him and while reuniting his bitterly divorced parents for his brother's wedding.

Plot: The documentary, a hit at Sundance, follows the spectacular streak of the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin, who went from benchwarmer to international Linsanity sensation in February 2012. Filmmaker Leong already had been working on a Lin documentary when the madness hit.

Plot: This documentary explores the deadliest day on K2 (The Savage Mountain), on the border of China and Pakistan, when 22 climbers converged on High Camp in August 2008. Just 48 hours later, 11 had vanished or been killed.

Friday, Oct. 4

David Kruta

'Concussion'

Director: Stacie Passon

Stars: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff

Plot: After a literal blow to the head, a domesticated lesbian housewife has a mental crisis and becomes a high-class call girl.

Plot: This musical documentary profiles Doc Pomus, who overcame polio to write some of the most beloved songs of the century, including This Magic Moment and Viva Las Vegas.

Friday, Oct. 4

Epic Pictures Releasing

'Vikingdom'

Director: Yusry Abd Halim

Stars: Conan Stevens, Craig Fairbrass, Dominic Purcell

Plot: Wait, Thor's a bad guy? Hero Eirick (Purcell) must retrieve Odin's horn before Thor and his army use it to conquer the world.

Friday, Oct. 11

Hopper Stone, Columbia Pictures

'Captain Phillips'

Director: Paul Greengrass

Stars: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi

Plot: Hanks stars as real-life cargo ship captain Richard Phillips, whose heroic actions in the face of armed Somali pirates in 2009, who took the crew hostage of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama, captivated the nation.

Plot: This feature film tells the three-chord true story of Hilly Kristal (Rickman), who opened a New York club for country, bluegrass and blues artists but instead, thanks to the bands that came through his doors such as Blondie and Talking Heads, became a godfather for the nascent punk-rock movement of the 1970s.

Friday, Oct. 11

Amber Entertainment

'Romeo and Juliet'

Director: Carlo Carlei

Stars: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Damian Lewis

Plot: Shakespeare's classic forbidden-love story comes to life in an adaptation by Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes with True Grit standout Steinfeld getting hot and heavy with Booth.

Friday, Oct. 11

'I Will Follow You into the Dark'

Director: Mark Edwin Robinson

Stars: Mischa Barton, Ryan Eggold, Leah Pipes

Plot: A young woman (Barton) fights to find her beloved boyfriend (Eggold) who has been taken by paranormal forces.

Plot: The adventurous life of extreme skiier Shane McConkey is explored in a documentary.

Friday, Oct. 11

Mike Osborne, The Weinstein Company

'All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'

Director: Jonathan Levine

Stars: Amber Heard, Michael Welch, Anson Mount

Plot: The 2006 horror flick finally getting a release stars Heard as a shy outsider invited to spend the weekend at a secluded ranch house targeted by a killer stalker.

Wednesday, Oct. 16

Killer Films

'Kill Your Darlings'

Director: John Krokidas

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall

Plot: Columbia University is the hot spot for up-and-coming poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Lucien Carr and William Burroughs and a scandalous murder. The story is based on true events and characters.

Friday, Oct. 18

Alan Markfield, Summit Entertainment

'Escape Plan'

Director: Mikael Hafstrom

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel

Plot: Stallone and Schwarzenegger come together - for the first time as leading men - as inmates escaping from the most protected and fortified prisons ever built.

Plot: The 1976 horror classic featuring the worst prom-dress disaster story ever returns with Moretz taking on the Sissy Spacek role of a outcast girl with the overbearing, religious mother (Moore). Carrie unleashes her telekinetic terror after being pushed too far at the school dance.